The Danakil Diary

The account gives you an appreciation for how early Thesiger started on this type of adventure and what experience underlay his later travels (try to picture yourself doing this at his age of 23). It helps understand the contrast between his Hindu Kush experience in Among the Mountains versus Eric Newby's in A Short Walk the in the Hindu Kush. You must read Danakil to appreciate Thesiger's later writings.

One of the last true explorers, Thesiger here recounts his adventures in the sun-blasted deserts of Northern Ethiopia attempting to trace the course of the Awash river to its finality. Along the way he has encounters with hostile tribes and other adventures. The region he explored and herein describes sounds quite fascinating! Worth a look.

What an amazing trip! Those were the days of true adventure. Thesiger was lucky to make it out alive. Too bad all the wildlife in that area is gone today.

An upcoming trip to Ethiopia sparked the recommendation of this book from friends who had read it. It was not easy to find, as it is out of print etc., but I located it through Amazon. It was a fascinating read primarily because, due to a childhood in post-colonial Addis Ababa, he enjoyed access to a culture and area at a time (pre-WW II) when this was virtually unheard of. His writing skills were limited (lots of "lists", but, after all, it IS a diary!), but the narrative voice was strong. Cultural and political situations were very revealing, keeping in mind that the author's upbringing and existence are British Empire personified. The black and white photographs are a documentary unto themselves, a testament to his skill and bravery. Overall, a very interesting glimpse into a part of the world that has remained largely wild and under the radar.

Very detailed account of tribal life and physical descriptions of Ethiopia while it was still relatively untamed. However it is somewhat monotonous. I prefer his later books: Arabian Sands and the Marsh Arabs, both top notch prose and travel writing. He was truly a rugged individual who loved wild places and shunned modern development.

Another fine tale of exploration and adventure. Nesbitt was denied entry to the Arussa Sultanate and had to take the more dangerous route through the Burri Sultanate. His( Thesiger's} account of his life as a youth in Addis Ababa is worth the read as well. If you enjoyed Desert and Forest I recommend this work as well. It expands and clarifies some of Nesbitt's observations on the life and customs of the Danakil tribesmen.

At the risk of encountering serious bodily harm, the very young Thesiger manages to overcome many hardships and much opposition on his trek through the deserts of southern Abyssinia, but you have to read between the lines to get many thrills.

Interesting glimpse of the past

This is a sort of diary of an exploration and hunting trip led by the young Thesinger to the southern Danakil region of Abyssinia in 1934. It's fascinating to read his nonchalance, e.g. "As I was going to bed I killed two tarantulas in my tent" (p. 154); "The Abyssinians did the wedding dance... The Danakil encored them repeatedly. They don't seem to have any good dances of their own" (p. 149). "One of the negadis has had toothache. Asked us to take it out. Daniel tried with some wire cutters, but unfortunately only broke the tooth" (p. 54). One is not surprised to learn that he is entirely successful in avoiding unfortunate incidences with the natives, and even makes friends with the French. For indeed, he is the best they breed: "In 1917, owing to the war... my father took his leave in India, where his brother, Lord Chelmsford, was Viceroy... I rode about on elephants and was taken on a tiger shoot." (p. xv.) But it is strange to reflect that there then seems to have been a perfectly functioning railway from Djibouti to Addis, which is only now being reopened, and by the Chinese.

Spannend und authentisch; für den ethnologisch interessierten ausgiebiger als der Bericht von Nesbitt, allerdings auch nicht so mystisch; Thesiger hatte gegenüber Nesbitt einen privilegierten Start in mehrfacher Hinsicht: er konnte von den Berichten Nesbitt's lernen UND die politisch und sozial einflussreiche Stellung seines Vaters ( britischer Konsul ) gab im enorme Sicherheit und einen nicht zu unterschätzenden logistischen Vorteil bei der Organisation der Expedition; absolut lesenswert und eine Fundgrube für freaks der exotischen Reiselektüre

A wondrous account of the journeys of the great explorer Wilfred Thesiger, who first European, travelled the Danakil depression and other unexplored parts of Ethiopia in the years immediately preceding the Italian Fascist military conquest of the Ethiopian Empire.

Early Thesiger but none the worse for that, diary form a little "highlights only" but does take you on the journey

It portrays a way of exploration now well in the past. An engaging read.